---
_id: '15285'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Ever since the first publication of the standard communication protocol for
    computer-assisted electrocardiography (SCP-ECG), prENV 1064, in 1993, by the European
    Committee for Standardization (CEN), SCP-ECG has become a leading example in health
    informatics, enabling open, secure, and well-documented digital data exchange
    at a low cost, for quick and efficient cardiovascular disease detection and management.
    Based on the experiences gained, since the 1970s, in computerized electrocardiology,
    and on the results achieved by the pioneering, international cooperative research
    on common standards for quantitative electrocardiography (CSE), SCP-ECG was designed,
    from the beginning, to empower personalized medicine, thanks to serial ECG analysis.
    The fundamental concept behind SCP-ECG is to convey the necessary information
    for ECG re-analysis, serial comparison, and interpretation, and to structure the
    ECG data and metadata in sections that are mostly optional in order to fit all
    use cases. SCP-ECG is open to the storage of the ECG signal and ECG measurement
    data, whatever the ECG recording modality or computation method, and can store
    the over-reading trails and ECG annotations, as well as any computerized or medical
    interpretation reports. Only the encoding syntax and the semantics of the ECG
    descriptors and of the diagnosis codes are standardized. We present all of the
    landmarks in the development and publication of SCP-ECG, from the early 1990s
    to the 2009 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) SCP-ECG standards,
    including the latest version published by CEN in 2020, which now encompasses rest
    and stress ECGs, Holter recordings, and protocol-based trials.
acknowledgement: This research received no external funding. The authors thank the
  large number of researchers, engineers, cardiologists, and clinicians from academia,
  industry, and normalization organizations who contributed to the development and
  testing of the SCP-ECG standards.
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: review
author:
- first_name: Paul
  full_name: Rubel, Paul
  last_name: Rubel
- first_name: Jocelyne
  full_name: Fayn, Jocelyne
  last_name: Fayn
- first_name: Peter W.
  full_name: Macfarlane, Peter W.
  last_name: Macfarlane
- first_name: Danilo
  full_name: Pani, Danilo
  last_name: Pani
- first_name: Alois
  full_name: Schlögl, Alois
  id: 45BF87EE-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Schlögl
  orcid: 0000-0002-5621-8100
- first_name: Alpo
  full_name: Värri, Alpo
  last_name: Värri
citation:
  ama: 'Rubel P, Fayn J, Macfarlane PW, Pani D, Schlögl A, Värri A. The history and
    challenges of SCP-ECG: The standard communication protocol for computer-assisted
    electrocardiography. <i>Hearts</i>. 2021;2(3):384-409. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/hearts2030031">10.3390/hearts2030031</a>'
  apa: 'Rubel, P., Fayn, J., Macfarlane, P. W., Pani, D., Schlögl, A., &#38; Värri,
    A. (2021). The history and challenges of SCP-ECG: The standard communication protocol
    for computer-assisted electrocardiography. <i>Hearts</i>. MDPI. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/hearts2030031">https://doi.org/10.3390/hearts2030031</a>'
  chicago: 'Rubel, Paul, Jocelyne Fayn, Peter W. Macfarlane, Danilo Pani, Alois Schlögl,
    and Alpo Värri. “The History and Challenges of SCP-ECG: The Standard Communication
    Protocol for Computer-Assisted Electrocardiography.” <i>Hearts</i>. MDPI, 2021.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/hearts2030031">https://doi.org/10.3390/hearts2030031</a>.'
  ieee: 'P. Rubel, J. Fayn, P. W. Macfarlane, D. Pani, A. Schlögl, and A. Värri, “The
    history and challenges of SCP-ECG: The standard communication protocol for computer-assisted
    electrocardiography,” <i>Hearts</i>, vol. 2, no. 3. MDPI, pp. 384–409, 2021.'
  ista: 'Rubel P, Fayn J, Macfarlane PW, Pani D, Schlögl A, Värri A. 2021. The history
    and challenges of SCP-ECG: The standard communication protocol for computer-assisted
    electrocardiography. Hearts. 2(3), 384–409.'
  mla: 'Rubel, Paul, et al. “The History and Challenges of SCP-ECG: The Standard Communication
    Protocol for Computer-Assisted Electrocardiography.” <i>Hearts</i>, vol. 2, no.
    3, MDPI, 2021, pp. 384–409, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/hearts2030031">10.3390/hearts2030031</a>.'
  short: P. Rubel, J. Fayn, P.W. Macfarlane, D. Pani, A. Schlögl, A. Värri, Hearts
    2 (2021) 384–409.
date_created: 2024-04-03T09:03:31Z
date_published: 2021-08-24T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2024-04-09T06:51:50Z
day: '24'
ddc:
- '610'
department:
- _id: ScienComp
doi: 10.3390/hearts2030031
file:
- access_level: open_access
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  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2024-04-09T06:49:47Z
  date_updated: 2024-04-09T06:49:47Z
  file_id: '15302'
  file_name: 2021_Hearts_Rubel.pdf
  file_size: 3539897
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2024-04-09T06:49:47Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '         2'
issue: '3'
keyword:
- General Medicine
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
month: '08'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 384-409
publication: Hearts
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2673-3846
publication_status: published
publisher: MDPI
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'The history and challenges of SCP-ECG: The standard communication protocol
  for computer-assisted electrocardiography'
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 2
year: '2021'
...